“I really want to stress that this is super beta testing,” Robinson says. “We’ve done internal testing, but you never really weed out bugs until you put it out there. We also want to make sure Bo Brooks is comfortable with the amount of orders.”

Today through Sunday, from 2-9 p.m., users can download Brewber from the App Store (it’s currently only available on the iPhone), place an order from nearly the entire liquor store’s inventory, and get it delivered with no fee. Because of the liquor store’s location, the delivery area is just from Harbor East to Highlandtown. However, in about a month, Brewber is going to launch at multiple liquor stores and bars throughout the city and be available for both Android and iOS devices. There will also be a delivery charge of $5 and a $15-20 order minimum.

Similar to Drizly, and because of liquor laws, it will be the store employees doing the actual delivering. But, Robinson explains, the Brewber app will provide a much better user experience than what exists already with Drizly.

“We believe we’re a much more efficient way to peruse the inventory,” he says. “You can easily favorite items and also review them, so other users are more well-informed. We want to make it a more social experience.”

Also, Robinson is hoping to partner with cocktail bars down the line, so that they can provide recipes for some signature drinks and users can buy the supplies through Brewber and make them at home. He also stresses he and his team’s love for Baltimore.

“We really care about the city and are passionate about it,” says Robinson, who has lived here for more than 10 years. “We really hope that resonates with our customers.”

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Well now, if staggering to and from the corner bar has become too much work, Drizly has a solution. The company, which was founded in Boston last year, works with liquor store retailers to deliver alcohol straight to consumers’ doorsteps. Drizly is launching in Baltimore on Thursday, which will be its 12th market to date.

As the story usually goes, Drizly’s founders were sitting around their Boston College dorm rooms wondering why they couldn’t get alcohol delivered with the same ease they can order an Uber.

“There are a lot of regulations surrounding alcohol; it’s a controlled substance,” says Bryan Goodwin, Drizly’s VP of sales and retail partnerships. “So they took an academic approach to see how it would be possible. The simple answer to what makes us legal is we don’t touch the alcohol or the money.”

Essentially, Drizly works like many on-demand services, in which the consumer downloads an app, puts in their credit card information, and places their order.

Where Drizly differs is that the delivery drivers are actually employees of the liquor stores. These employees get Drizly-issued iPhones, where they can keep track of inventory, see orders coming in, and, most importantly, verify IDs at the door. The company does charge a $5 delivery fee and most consumers tip the drivers.

“We’re trying to make the shopping experience better, not trying to promote any negative behavior,” Goodwin says. “If a driver ever feels like a consumer is too intoxicated to receive a delivery, they have every right not to complete that transaction. We’re just trying to make it easier for you to plan your dinner party.”

On February 5, Drizly will launch at Canton Crossing Wine & Spirits, Wine Underground, and Dulaney Wine and Spirits—strategically covering a lot of ground in the Baltimore metro area. The company hopes to expand to other liquor stores and says that, for now, it only partners with off-premise liquor establishments.

“Any time we launch in a new market, we look at different criteria,” Goodwin says. “And Baltimore checks a lot of boxes: big millenial population, booming craft-beer industry, and thriving young companies. We thought there was an appetite in Baltimore for this kind of-on demand lifestyle.”

I suppose we will take that as a compliment!

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